Lashlee took some heat for those comments, because how dare he go against the conference where “it just means more”, but the SMU coach didn’t back down in a recent interview on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
“It wasn’t a shot at anybody,” Lashlee said (h/t On3). “I spent six hours answering questions at ACC Kickoff Media Days last week. I think I mentioned in about two sentences and that’s what everybody took and ran with. I feel like I’ve got a respect for the SEC… I’ve got a lot of respect for the league. All I said was a comment and unfortunately, it was a factual comment. The same six schools have won that league for the last 60 years. It’s hard to argue parity if that’s the case.”
Factually, Lashlee is correct. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee are the only schools that have won the SEC over the past 60 years. Conversely, Clemson, N.C. State, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Pitt have won the ACC.
Yes, some of those schools are no longer in the ACC, and yes, the recent past has been dominated by Clemson and, to a lesser extent, Florida State, but Lashlee’s point does stand.
If we’re talking about parity, the ACC has it at the top. As it relates to depth, though, while the SEC title game may not have a ton of variety, it’s tough to argue that there are more SEC schools that are legitimate college football “bluebloods” compared to ACC schools.
